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But in reply to Mr Hunt's tweet today, Dr Phil Hammond, a well-known NHS doctor, tweeted back saying that it was down to the fierce pressure from the profession which resulted in the Government going back to the negotiation table.

10:15 Tens of thousands of deaths across England and Wales are being caused by a failure to follow after-care treatment recommendations following a heart attack, a new study has revealed.

The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the National Institute for Health Research, analysed 389,057 cases of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) in patients treated across 247 hospitals in England and Wales between January 2003 and January 2013,ITV reports.

It found that 90% of patients are not receiving the full range of 13 treatments they should be given, including dietary advice, advice to help people to stop smoking, the prescription of a type of anti-clotting drug known as P2Y12 inhibitors and receiving a coronary angiography.

The new University of Oxford study found that previous studies of the ‘weekend effect’ failed to check the accuracy of coding data, which meant low-risk patients admitted during the week were wrongly being recorded as having been admitted for stroke.

The lead author said that the ‘weekend effect’ was an ’illusion created by poor data’.

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